Quinn interviewed for the job of defensive coordinator, but decided to remain in Gainesville as Will Muschamp’s defensive chief.

Gerald McCoy’s second season in the NFL wasn’t a particularly great one. The defensive lineman, the third-overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, played in just six games because of injury, recorded just one sack, and saw the Buccaneers defense fall apart down the stretch after he went down.

But McCoy, who’s moonlighting as a reporter for OCNN this week, sounded pumped about the prospect of new Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano coming to Florida. “From what I found out, he’s well-respected in the coaching circle,” McCoy said Thursday. “I got to interview Bill Belichick earlier this week and he told me personally that he’s learned a lot of stuff he knows from Coach Schiano. For a coach like Bill Belichick to give my new coach a stamp of approval? You can’t ask for anything better than that.

“He’s defensive-minded and I’m a defensive player, so that’s what I’m looking for.” McCoy also acknowledged that last season’s debacle was partially caused by a lack of discipline within the locker room, something that most folks believed happened, especially late in the year.

“Here’s the thing: in order to be a great team in the NFL, coming off a 10-win season, you’re not going to surprise anybody any more,” McCoy said. “So you’re going to get everyone’s best. And you can’t do the same things if you’re going to be great in this league. I learned that from Warren Sapp. You’ve got to give them something new. I just think our discipline level dropped a little bit. We kind of had the second-year slump coming off a 10-win season and kind of living off that. But I think we had a wake-up call. We got a new coach, they changed a lot of things and I think we’re going to be back.”

Greg Schiano was a dealt a tough blow when the Arizona Cardinals declined the team’s request to interview Cardinals receivers coach John McNulty for the position of offensive coordinator. McNulty served on Schiano’s staff at Rutgers from 2004-08 and was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach during his last three seasons with the Scarlet Knights.

Considering the investment the Bucs have in quarterback Josh Freeman, offensive coordinator is arguably the most critical hire on Schiano’s staff, it’s believed that Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt made the call on prohibiting McNulty from interviewing with the Bucs. Because it’s such an important hire, the Bucs still are working behind the scenes to acquire McNulty, the Times confirmed. The effort may include an appeal directly to Cardinals owner Bill Bidwell, but it’s hard to imagine the Cardinals reversing course at this point.

Now Bucs’ GM Mark Dominik offers similar sentiments when asked about areas of the roster that need to be improved and how the team will go about making that happen.

“We understand we’re not a finished product,” he said according to Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times. “I know that there’s things we need to address on this team and I know that we’ll do it in all capacities. We’re going to do it in free agency. I don’t want people to be worried that we’re not going to spend in free agency. We’ll be involved.”

Round 1, Pick 5: Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU. I believe that if they think Dre Kirkpatrick is better, they’ll take him, even with the mild off-the-field issue.

Round 2, Pick 37: Cordy Glenn, G, Georgia *. Jeremy Zuttah is a free agent, and possibly makes a better center than guard. If Glenn isn’t here (and I could see that being the case), they will look to DT, WR, or possibly another corner if Ronde Barber doesn’t come back.

Round 3, Pick 72: T.Y. Hilton, WR, FIU. The Bucs will address linebacker in free agency. They use this chance to take a fast receiver (and punt returner) to open things underneath for Mike Williams and Kellen Winslow. Hilton may even turn into a 4th round steal, as QB play was the reason for his lack of production at college.

Round 4: Duke Ihenacho, SS, San Jose State. Safety play was bad for the Buccaneers last year. Ihenacho has starter potential, and starter Sean Jones is an unrestricted free agent.

Round 5: Jerry Franklin, MLB, Arkansas. Offensive line or another wideout are both possibilities here. Franklin is hard-hitting and can rush the passer.

*Playing in the Senior Bowl today at 4 PM ET on NFL Network.

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More 5-Round Mocks.

SI.com’s Peter King reacts to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ hiring of Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano.

Greg Schiano couldn’t resist the challenge of trying to transform the Bucs into winners.

The 45-year-old architect of a stunning college football turnaround at Rutgers was formally introduced Friday as the “right man” to the lead the NFL’s youngest team to playoff contention — and beyond.

“I don’t believe in doing anything except to be the best,” Schiano told a packed auditorium inside the team’s posh headquarters and training facility. “We’re going to try to be the best starting today. How long that’s going to take, I can’t tell you that. … But when our best is the best, we’ll be Super Bowl champs.”

Schiano took over a struggling program at Rutgers and turned it into a Big East contender during an 11-year run with the Scarlet Knights.

The Bucs are banking on him to have the same kind of impact in Tampa Bay, which has not won a playoff game since winning it’s only NFL title in 2002.

“He’s a person who came into a program and built it from the ground up. … He went in there, rolled up his sleeves, cut no corners, did the hard work that was necessary to put it where it is today,” Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer said.

“He has a vision for what he wants to do, how he wants to coach football,” Glazer added. “We spoke to a lot of people in football. The more people we spoke to, whether it be college or the pros or scouts, it was amazing the feedback you got.”

There have been numerous suitors for Schiano over the past decade, however he said none of the opportunities seemed right for him. That is until the Bucs called during a 24-day search that began when Raheem Morris was fired on Jan. 2.

The Glazer family, along with general manager Mark Dominik, convinced Schiano they share a common vision of what it will take to build a consistent winner.

“I’ve been in the NFL” as an assistant, Schiano said. “I’ve been a head coach for 11 years. I did not need to be a head coach in the National Football league today. … So I really studied the team, I studied the situation, I studied the ownership, I studied mark. That’s what makes me comfortable” taking the job.

“There’s been several opportunities to go to places that were quote, unquote bigger names or bigger programs,” the coach added. “And at times I listened. But when I tried to put myself there, it just didn’t feel good. … This felt right.”

The Bucs have fielded the league’s youngest team the past two years with dramatically different results. After going 10-6 and nearly earning a playoff berth in 2010, they slumped to 4-12 for this season, ending the 35-year-old Morris’ run as the NFL’s youngest head coach on a 10-game losing streak.

A porous defense allowed 31 of more points in seven of the team’s last eight games and the offense sputtered, in part because of the inconsistent play of Josh Freeman, who threw took a step back in his development with a career-high 22 interceptions after throwing just six the previous season.

Schiano was one of at least 10 candidates the Glazer family interviewed during a 24-day search. Oregon coach Chip Kelly turned down the job earlier this week, leaving Schiano, former Green Bay Packers and Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman and Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski as finalists for the Tampa Bay opening.

“The more time we had a chance to spend with him, the more evident and clear it was that he was going to be the man to lead our football team going forward,” Dominik said.

In addition to getting Freeman back on track, Schiano faces the challenge of improving a defense that yielded a franchise-record 494 points while also ranking near the bottom of the NFL in sacks and yards allowed.

The Bucs used first- and second-round selections in each of the past two drafts to rebuild the defense line, yet still have not been able to generate a consistent pass rush.

Schiano was a defensive assistant in the NFL with the Chicago Bears for three seasons and was the University of Miami’s defensive coordinator for two years before moving to Rutgers.

“You talk about how our team is going to look. … Our team will be built around a humble, unselfish, attitude and sacrifice,” Schiano said. “It’s hard to find that in today’s world. But that’s who we’ll be.”

This season revealed glaring weaknesses throughout the team. Still, Schiano likes the foundation that Dominik and Morris laid the past two years.

“It a young core of very talented guys. But until you actually coach them, how do you know how talented? I’ve watched video, I talked to people I know in the National Football League and I’m very impressed,” he said, adding that he’s confident he’ll be able to assemble a coaching staff that will help players grow.

This is why he was selected:

1. The Buccaneers needed order and discipline. Davin Joseph recently spoke out concerning this, that some players were allowed to do what they want under Raheem Morris. Schiano’s strong leadership style has brought praise from Bill Belichick.

2. The Buccaneers are rebuilding. Schiano had to face an uphill battle going to a Rutgers football team in 2001 that had not had a winning season since 2002 and had never won a bowl game (appearing only once in 1978, defeated by Arizona State in the Garden State Bowl). Schiano’s Scarlet Knights went 5-1 in bowl games, including winning all of their last five. It makes more sense to bring in 45 year-old Schiano, than to bring in Marty Schottenheimer, who will probably hit 70 and want to retire by the time the team has turned around (he turns 70 next year). It’s good to have a coach make his pro debut and grow along with the players.

3. The time was right for Greg Schiano. Realistically, he had accomplished everything you could at a school in the Big East, when West Virginia still has the upper hand with recruiting. He was unlikely to ever win a BCS title, so he took on a bigger challenge with Tampa Bay.

What he brings:

1. Old-school, lunch pail mentality. Hard tackling will be instituted. Diva mentality and personal fouls will not be accepted. Rutgers was first in the Big East in points allowed in 2011 (18.8), was first in 2009 (17.4), and second in 2008 (18.5). They will run the ball (Ray Rice ran 910 times in three seasons).

2. The need for an offensive coordinator. While Schiano is born to be a head coach, and has a more than adequate defensive IQ (he was defensive backs coach with the Chicago Bears in the 90′s), he doesn’t know offense. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights set an NCAA record by allowing 61 sacks in 2010. They brought in a Mike McCarthy assistant to be offensive coordinator last year, Frank Cignetti. The offense he brought to the squad had elements of Bill Walsh and Don Coryell. In fact, if he could bring Frank Cignetti, that would be great. Rutgers threw for 2940 yards in 2011, up from 2328 in 2010.

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The Buccaneers are close to finally getting a head coach, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting the team is trying to wrap up a deal with Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano.

Schiano’s hiring would be a surprise, as his name hasn’t been mentioned at all with any other openings, and the last time he was mentioned for a job was after the 2006 season when Rutgers went 11-2 and Michigan was believed to be interested.

The 45-year-old Schiano has spent the 11 seasons at Rutgers, compiling a 68-67 record that includes a 5-1 mark in bowl games. Over the last seven seasons, the Scarlet Knights are an impressive 56-33 and have gone to all six of their bowl games under Schiano.

Schiano has three years of NFL coaching experience, all as a defensive assistant/position coach with the Bears from 1996-98 before spending two seasons as the defensive coordinator at the University of Miami.

In 2001, Schiano took over a Rutgers program that was an absolute doormat and put them in six bowl games over the last seven years.

According to the ESPN report, the Buccaneers have done extensive research on Schiano, who they have been in contact with throughout their search for a new head coach. One of the current NFL head coaches who spoke highly of Schiano was New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

Chudzinski is in Mobile, Alabama this week for the Senior Bowl with the rest of the Panthers’ coaching staff.  Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is getting impatient with the Bucs, stating, ” he would like some resolution”  on the status of Chudzinski, who also interviewed for the St. Louis and Jacksonville head coaching jobs.